A Sandwich a Day: The Cheesy Italian Beef from Gold Coast Dogs

Editor's Note: In this great city of ours, one could eat a different sandwich every day of the year--so that's what we'll do. Here's A Sandwich a Day, our daily look at sandwiches around the Windy City. Got a sandwich we should check out? Let us know!

[Photograph: Dennis Lee]

My coworker looked at me like I was crazy when I whipped out this Cheesy Italian Beef ($5.69) from Gold Coast Dogs. "Who the hell orders an Italian beef from Gold Coast Dogs?" I gave him a sheepish grin and said, "I had to try it." Great comeback, Dennis.

For some reason when I saw the name "Cheesy Italian Beef," I thought I might be getting some seriously orange processed cheese sauce (which I secretly hoped for), instead, I received a tiny amount of nearly undetectable mozzarella under a pile of Italian beef. The beef is dry and since I forgot to ask for the sandwich dipped, the bread came out dry too, but that was an error on my part. This is a straight down the middle Italian beef, and is unmemorable on all counts—even the giardinera couldn't quite bring it up to speed. So yes, next time, I'll be ordering a hot dog. You win, coworker. You win.

This time.

Gold Coast Dogs

About the author: After a failed attempt at starting a chain of theme restaurants called "Smellen Keller," Dennis Lee traveled the world to discover his true passion. Sadly, midwifery didn't pan out. Now he works in a cubicle, and screws around as much as possible. Follow his shenanigans on Twitter.